Category: published

H. Kato, S.K. Mutte, H. Suzuki, I. Crespo, S. Das, T. Radoeva, M. Fontana, Y. Yoshitake, E. Hainiwa, W. van den Berg, S. Lindhoud, L. Ishizaki, J. Hohlbein, J.W. Borst, D.R. Boer, R. Nishihama, T. Kohchi, D. Weijers, Nature Plants, 6, 472, 2020, [link], bioRxiv, 2019, [link]

Auxin controls numerous growth processes in land plants through a gene expression system that modulates ARF tran-scription factor activity. Gene duplications in families encoding auxin response components have generated tremendous complexity in most land plants, and neofunctionalization enabled various unique response outputs during development. However, it is unclear what fundamental biochemical principles underlie this complex response system. By studying the minimal system in Marchantia polymorpha, we derive an intuitive and simple model where a single auxin-dependent A-ARF activates gene expression. It is antagonized by an auxin-independent B-ARF that represses common target genes. The expression patterns of both ARF proteins define developmental zones where auxin response is permitted, quantitatively tuned or prevented. This fundamental design probably represents the ancestral system and formed the basis for inflated, complex systems.

C. Fijen, M. Kronenberg, R. Kaup, M. Fontana, J. Towle-Weicksel, J. Sweasy, J. Hohlbein, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 295, 9012–20, 2020, [link], previous bioRxiv preprint: [link]

Eukaryotic DNA polymerase β (Pol β) plays an important role in cellular DNA repair, as it fills short gaps in dsDNA that result from removal of damaged bases. Since defects in DNA repair may lead to cancer and genetic instabilities, Pol β has been extensively studied, especially its mechanisms for substrate binding and a fidelity-related conformational change referred to as “fingers closing.” Here, we applied single-molecule FRET (smFRET) to measure distance changes associated with DNA binding and pre-chemistry fingers movement of human Pol β. First, using a doubly labeled DNA construct, we show that Pol β bends the gapped DNA substrate less than indicated by previously reported crystal structures. Second, using acceptor-labeled Pol β and donor-labeled DNA, we visualized dynamic fingers closing in single Pol β-DNA complexes upon addition of complementary nucleotides and derived rates of conformational changes. We further found that, while incorrect nucleotides are quickly rejected, they nonetheless stabilize the polymerase–DNA complex, suggesting that Pol β, when bound to a lesion, has a strong commitment to nucleotide incorporation and, thus, repair. In summary, the observation and quantification of fingers movement in human Pol β reported here provide new insights into the delicate mechanisms of pre-chemistry nucleotide selection.

S.P.B. van Beljouw, S. van der Els, K.J. A. Martens, M. Kleerebezem, P.A. Bron, J. Hohlbein, Physical Biology, 16, 035001, 2019, [link]

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are frequently used in food fermentation and are invaluable for the taste and nutritional value of the fermentation end-product. To gain a better understanding of underlying biochemical and microbiological mechanisms and cell-to-cell variability in LABs, single-molecule techniques such as single-particle tracking photo-activation localization microscopy (sptPALM) hold great promises but are not yet employed due to the lack of detailed protocols and suitable assays.

Here, we qualitatively test various fluorescent proteins including variants that are photoactivatable and therefore suitable for sptPALM measurements in Lactococcus lactis, a key LAB for the dairy industry. In particular, we fused PAmCherry2 to dCas9 allowing the successful tracking of single dCas9 proteins, whilst the dCas9 chimeras bound to specific guide RNAs retained their gene silencing ability in vivo. The diffusional information of the dCas9 without any targets showed different mechanistic states of dCas9: freely diffusing, bound to DNA, or transiently interacting with DNA. The capability of performing sptPALM with dCas9 in L. lactis can lead to a better, general understanding of CRISPR-Cas systems as well as paving the way for CRISPR-Cas based interrogations of cellular functions in LABs.

 

M. Fontana, C. Fijen, S. G. Lemay, K. Mathwig and J. Hohlbein, Lab on a Chip, 19, 79, 2019. [link]

Single-molecule detection schemes offer powerful means to overcome static and dynamic heterogeneity inherent to complex samples. However, probing biomolecular interactions and reactions with high throughput and time resolution remains challenging, often requiring surface-immobilized entities. Here, we introduce glass-made nanofluidic devices for the high-throughput detection of freely-diffusing single biomolecules by camera-based fluorescence microscopy. Nanochannels of 200 nm height confine the movement of biomolecules. Using pressure-driven flow through an array of parallel nanochannels and by tracking the movement of fluorescently labelled DNA oligonucleotides, we observe conformational changes with high throughput. In a device geometry featuring a T-shaped junction of nanochannels, we drive steady-state non-equilibrium conditions by continuously mixing reactants and triggering chemical reactions. We use the device to probe the conformational equilibrium of a DNA hairpin as well as to continuously observing DNA synthesis in real time. Our platform offers a straightforward and robust method for studying reaction kinetics at the single-molecule level.

 

C. Fijen, A. Montón Silva, A. Hochkoeppler and J. Hohlbein, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19, 4222-4230, 2017, [link]

We developed a versatile DNA assay and framework for monitoring polymerization of DNA in real time and at the single-molecule level. The assay consists of an acceptor labelled DNA primer annealed to a DNA template that is labelled on its single stranded, downstream overhang with a donor fluorophore. Upon extension of the primer using a DNA polymerase, the overhang of the template alters its conformation from a random coil to the canonical structure of double stranded DNA. This conformational change increases the distance between the donor and the acceptor fluorophore and can be detected as a decrease in the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency between both fluorophores. Remarkably, the DNA assay does not require any modification of the DNA polymerase and albeit the simple and robust spectroscopic readout facilitates measurements even with conventional fluorimeters or stopped-flow equipment, single-molecule FRET provides additional access to parameters such as the processivity of DNA synthesis and, for one of the three DNA polymerases tested, the detection of binding and dissociation of the DNA polymerase to DNA. We furthermore demonstrate that primer extensions by a single base can be resolved.